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The Breakdown with Shaun King

Ep. 217 - Why is Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer ignoring our calls to release Michael Thompson from prison?

The Breakdown with Shaun King

The North Star

News, Society & Culture

4.812.6K Ratings

🗓️ 15 April 2020

⏱️ 15 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Michael Thompson has served 26 years of a life sentence for selling some weed to a friend. Once. Michael is a senior citizen and has several underlying health conditions that put him at grave risk with the coronavirus sweeping across America’s jails and prisons. There is one person who can set him free: Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer. On today's episode, Shaun unpacks why, as she has risen to stardom in the Democratic party, Governor Whitmer has frozen out our pleas to free Michael. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0

I've literally never voted for a Republican in my entire life. I would never vote for

0:06.4

Donald Trump and I don't know of a Republican right now that I would consider

0:10.3

voting for. But right now Michigan has a Democratic governor, Gretchen

0:15.0

Whitmer, and I need you to understand that I have begged this woman for months and

0:22.0

months and months on end to release a man named Michael Thompson

0:27.8

from prison who was arrested on a weed charge 26 years ago.

0:35.0

I have begged her personally, I have called her, I have emailed her.

0:40.0

Attorneys have done the same thing.

0:42.0

I have talked to the lieutenant governor and now Michael,

0:46.2

who is nearly 70 years old, is struggling in prison during a coronavirus pandemic,

0:52.4

and we need a Democrat to actually do something.

0:55.0

So it's great that we elect people in power who we say are supposed to represent us,

1:01.0

but now we have somebody who's in power and we're saying, please, can you

1:07.0

have some mercy on a man who's been in prison for 26 years over a weed charge. Let me unpack and explain his case.

1:17.0

We're going to get back on it. Many of you who've listened to the breakdown before know that this case

1:22.2

means a lot to me we've talked about it

1:24.4

before we've made phone calls before but now it's urgent this is Sean King

1:29.4

and you are listening to the breakdown. The breakdown.

1:33.4

The breakdown.

1:36.4

The breakdown.

1:38.0

The breakdown. The breakdown. 26 years ago with Bill Clinton still in his first term as president.

1:51.1

Michael Thompson and I need you to understand this who was 42 years old at the time

...

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